Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Investigation of Atomization,
Mixing and Pollutant Emissions
for a Microturbine Engine
Christopher D. Bolszo
Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering
Key Te r m s
Equivalence Ratio
Microturbine Generator
Distributed Power
Generation
Evaporation Time
Lean Premixed
Prevaporized Combustion
Abstract
mall gas turbine engines, referred to as a microturbine generators (MTGs), produce up to 500kW of electrical power and are ideal for distributed power generation applications. By generating power where it is used (e.g., a commercial office
building), using MTGs can increase the reliability and quality of the electrical power
and allow the waste heat to be used to meet other energy requirements at the site.
Combining electrical power generation with waste heat recovery, referred to as combined heat and power, substantially increases the overall efficiency of the unit and
significantly reduces the mass emission of air pollutants per kW-hr of power generated when compared to traditional reciprocating backup devices. This project
addresses this issue experimentally by characterizing the pollutant emissions from a
liquid fueled MTG (Capstone model C30), and establishing the extent to which the
fuel preparation processes and operating parameters affect air pollutant emissions.
The results reveal that the MTG selected produces low levels of pollutants compared
to other technologies currently used. Furthermore, the research critically examines
the steps associated with preparing the liquid fuel for combustion to identify further
potential emissions reductions, demonstrates that emissions can be further reduced,
and identifies a strategy to achieve the reduction.
Faculty Mentor
The majority of electric and motive power production in the world
today uses combustion to transform the chemical energy bound in
the fuel into thermal energy that can drive a piston, turn a turbine,
or produce steam. Combustion is also responsible for the majority
of the air pollutant and global climate change gases emitted into the
troposphere. The reduction of pollutant impact from combustion
is closely tied to the preparation of fuel and the mixing of the fuel
with air. This paper provides a basic understanding of the role of fuel air mixing in
a liquid-fueled gas turbine engine and represents a major accomplishment by an
undergraduate in the conduct of energy research.
Scott Samuelsen
Henry Samueli School of Engineering
T H E U C I U N D E RG R A D UAT E R E S E A RC H J O U R N A L
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I n t ro d u c t i o n
As the demand for energy increases, the ability of traditional power generation strategies and power distribution infrastructure is being challenged. In the traditional approach,
central station power generation, power is generated at a
few large plants and then transmitted over miles of wires
known as a grid. Under an emerging concept, distributed
power generation, power is produced at the locations where
it is ultimately used, including commercial office buildings,
schools, hospitals, and industrial plants. Although this
approach reduces the loss of power across the grid, it also
results in the emission of air pollutants in the immediate
vicinity of people. Small gas turbine engines, called microturbine generators (MTGs), which produce up to 500kW of
electricity, provide an option for distributed power generation (Borbeley et al., 2001; Smith, 2001).
Distributed generation is already accepted as a form of
backup power. Backup generators are viewed strictly as
insurance against power failure with the hope they will
never be operated. As a result, it is difficult to justify large
capital investment in these devices. Reciprocating diesel
engines are a common choice, since their large scale production allows for a lower cost. While these devices can
provide power when needed, they generate substantial
amounts of pollution, require considerable maintenance
and are often unreliable.
FOR A
MICROTURBINE ENGINE
Figure 1
Capstone C30 Microturbine
Figure 2
Capstone C30 liquid fired injector with enlarged cross-section
showing fuel spray
The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal
Christopher D. Bolszo
combustion air and swirler air. This study explores the role
of each step in the fuel preparation process and the subsequent emissions performance to assure that the design
results in ultra low emission of air pollutants, and to identify the degree and manner in which emissions can potentially be reduced even further.
Experiment
Experiments were conducted with an MTG Test Rig, a
Mixing Test Rig, and an Atomization Test Rig. Diesel Fuel
#2 (DF-2) was used in all the rigs.
MTG Test Rig
Exhaust emissions were measured with a Horiba PG-250
emissions analyzer via an extractive sample probe centered
at the exit plane of the exhaust stack. Emissions were characterized for 50 to 100 percent load operating conditions.
The accuracy of the NOx and CO measurements is 0.25
parts per million volume dry (ppmvd) and 2 ppmvd,
respectively. The PG-250 was spanned and zeroed before
each measurement and the span was verified at the end of
each test run. A special injector was fabricated to allow the
connection of pressure transducers and thermocouplers
near the air-blast nozzle exit of the injector during operation.
Figure 3
Figure 4
Baseline and modified C30 injectors
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fuel line. Natural gas was used as a trace in the air flow to
identify the airs role in mixing. Results obtained with this
test rig allowed mixing performance of different injector
configurations and/or operating conditions to be quantitatively compared.
Atomization Test Rig
The single injector test rig was designed to characterize C30
injector atomization performance. Tests were conducted on
the fuel injector atomization independent of the fuel-air
premixer tube (Figure 7).
Figure 5
Single injector mixing test rig with hydrocarbon measurement
probe
Figure 6
CFD geometry of C30 injector
and surrounding flow path;
shown with downward orientation and with air flow entering
along far right side of arc
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Figure 7
(a) Injector without premixer tube and (b) injector in test configuration
Re s u l t s a n d D i s c u s s i o n
Emissions
Emission measurements were obtained for the C30 MTG
operated on DF-2 with both sets of injectors. Results versus
load setting are presented for the baseline injector as the
The UCI Undergraduate Research Journal
Christopher D. Bolszo
Figure 8
NOx emissions versus load with modified injector
Figure 9
CO emissions versus load with modified injector
Figure 10
Expected NOx and CO behavior for two injectors assuming ideal
prevaporization and premixing
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Figure 11
Effects of nonuniform fuel and air mixing on NOx formation
Figure 12
Normalized exit plane concentration profiles: (A) Baseline injector,
(B) Modified injector
in Figure 12 with orange being higher methane concentration. To quantify this variation, the coefficient of variation
of the exit plane fuel/air ratio was calculated as 11.6% and
13.6% for the baseline and modified injectors, respectively.
The results show that variation in mixing is 20% higher than
the baseline. This helps verify and quantify the inferior mixing performance of the modified injector. Variation in the
degree of mixing would lead to regions of higher local temperatures and, therefore, higher NOx emissions.
A computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model1 was developed to further assess the mixing performance of the fuel
injectors. The assumptions for this model were those
explained earlier in the experiments-mixing test rig section
of this paper. The results show that, by enlarging the air
hole size and maintaining system flow conditions, addition1. CFD-Ace+ (ESI) was used to compute the flowfield and mixing. A Reynolds Averaged
Navier Stokes (RANS) approach was used, with standard k-e turbulence model, and a turbulent Schmidt number of 0.5 (Qing, 2005).
Christopher D. Bolszo
Table 1
Air flow pressure drops in MTG
Pressure of combustor
Pressure drop of combustion air flow
0.335 MPa
5.6 %
0.344 MPa
Figure 13
Influence of ALR on SMD from calculation using Equation 2 and
measured values using laser diffraction
2.6 %
pressure drop
100
pressure of combustor
T H E U C I U N D E RG R A D UAT E R E S E A RC H J O U R N A L
(1)
D 32
= 0.48
2
do
A U R do
0.4
1
1+
ALR
0.4
+ 0.15 L
L do
0.5
1
1+
ALR
(2)
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FOR A
uid viscosity. The error bars illustrate the lack of achievement of stable atomization, which is undesired since the
presence of large droplets causes variations in local equivalence ratio and, therefore, emissions. Given that Equation 2
was derived for ALRs between 2 and 8, finding good agreement between the equation and the experimental data for
ALRs as low as 0.30 provides a validation for the expansion
of the range of ALRs in which Equation 2 can be applied.
Based on the agreement of Equation 2 to the experimental
data shown in Figure 13, it is reasonable to apply Equation
2 to estimate the atomizers performance at actual engine
conditions. If Equation 2 is applied using the properties at
actual engine conditions, the D32 at full load is estimated to
be 50 m. Equation 2 can also be used to explore how to
alter the injector operation to change the droplet sizes produced. The insight from using the above equation for the
C30 atomizer is illustrated in Figure 14.
Figure 14
ALR and UR effect on SMD for C30 airblast atomizer. The arrow
illustrates finer drop sizes at full load condition.
te =
D0
eff
(3)
Figure 15
Effect of SMD on drop lifetime
We =
AU R D 32
(4)
Christopher D. Bolszo
Based on the Weber numbers, shown in Table 2, the combustion air aids atomization. Since the modified injector has
a lower Weber number, larger droplet sizes (and therefore
longer vaporization times) are a significant factor in the
increase in NOx emissions observed for the modified injector.
Table 2
Weber numbers for baseline and modified injectors using 50
micron SMD
Atomization Air
Baseline
Modified
Combustion Air
30
30
7.6
5.8
Conclusion
NOx and CO emissions for a commercial Capstone C30 liquid fuel fired microturbine generator have been characterized. The sensitivity of the emissions performance to load,
combustor fuel to air ratio, atomization of the liquid fuel,
fuel and air mixing, and reaction temperature were established.
The results affirm the ability of a gas turbine engine to
achieve low emissions of both NOx and CO. The engine
has superior emissions performance compared to reciprocating engine technology currently being used for backup
power.
The research also clarifies the distinction between emissions
reduction strategies for a liquid fueled versus a well-premixed gasous fueled turbine engine, and demonstrates that
air pollutant emissions can be further reduced. While
increasing the airflow to the injector can, in a simplified
model, reduce reaction temperatures and NOx emissions,
the observed increase in emissions indicates that the key
assumptions of complete vaporization and perfect mixing
behind this model do not hold. This result is significant in
that it indicates that the reasonable and intuitive approach
of improving the emissions by simply reducing the injector
equivalence ratio and ensuring sufficient mixing do not
apply in the current system. This is attributed to the complexity of the phenomena involved in the preparation of
the fuel and air prior to combustion (i.e., atomization,
vaporization, and mixing). Measured mixing performance
of the two injectors reveals that NOx correlates with injector mixing performance. As a result, strategies that further
improve fuel-air mixing while maintaining a reasonable level
of atomization can potentially reduce emissions further.
T H E U C I U N D E RG R A D UAT E R E S E A RC H J O U R N A L
A c k n ow l e d g e m e n t s
A special thanks is due to my research advisors, Professor
Scott Samuelsen and Dr. Vince McDonell, whose unique
insight, guidance and encouragement have contributed to
the research presented herein. I would also like to acknowledge Josh Mauzey of the UCI Combustion Laboratory and
Sosuke Nakamura of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, whose
patience, persistence, and professional experience has provided insight and perspective to the research. I would like to
acknowledge the California Energy Commission (Contract
500-00-020) and Capstone Turbine Corporation for their
funding and support. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their unconditional love and support.
Wo r k s C i te d
Bittlinger, G., and N. Brehn. High Pressure Combustion Test of
Lean Premixed Prevaporized (LPP) Modules in an Axially
Staged Combustor Using a Multisector Rig. 14th ISABE
Conference, Florence, Italy Sept. (1999).
Borbeley, A.M., and J.F. Kreider. Distributed Generation: The
Power Paradigm for the New Millennium. Boca Raton: CRC
Press, 2001.
Georjon, T.L., and R.D. Reitz. Atomization and Sprays 9 (1999):
23154.
Lee, J.C.Y., P.C. Malte, and M.A. Benjamin. Low NOx
Combustion for Liquid Fuels: Atmospheric Pressure
Experiments Using a Staged Prevaporizer-Premixer. Paper
2001-GT-0081, Turbo Expo. June 2001, New Orleans, LA.
Lefebvre, A.H. Atomization and Sprays. Hemisphere Publishing,
1998.
---. Gas Turbine Combustion. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Taylor and
Francis, 1999.
Leonard, G., and J. Stegmaier. Development of an
Aeroderivative Gas Turbine Dry Low Emission Combustion
System. Journal of Engineering Gas Turbines and Power
116 (1994): 54246.
Lorenzetto, G.E., and A.H. Lefebvre. Measurements of Drop
Size on a Plain-Jet Airblast Atomizer. American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics Journal 15.7 (1977): 100610.
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